Report: U.S. says it won’t support Israeli strike if Iran stays away from American assets

(JNS.org)The U.S. has indirectly told Iran that it won’t support Israeli military action on its nuclear program if the Islamic Republic agrees to “steer clear of strategic American assets in the Persian Gulf,” the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.

America used “covert back-channels in Europe” to convey that message to Iran, according to the newspaper. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the report is “false” and that the U.S. doesn’t “talk about hypotheticals,” according to Reuters.

The report comes after U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey, speaking to reporters in London Aug. 30, said the following regarding a potential Israeli strike on Iran: “I don’t want to be complicit if they choose to do it.”

Meanwhile, the New York Times reported Monday that Obama is now considering setting “red lines”—points that, if reached, would prompt America to take military action against Iran. White House Spokesman Jay Carney said last week that Obama “has made clear frequently he is determined to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

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